Welby: witness gently for Jesus, and wait until you're asked (most of the time)
There's always a danger when you pick up a comment piece from a newspaper that you glance at a headline and form an opinion from a crass summary of…
Salvation
Mark Rylands mocked by fellow clergy for coming out as a Brexit Bishop
"It was beginning to seem like there would never be a Brexit bishop," began the blog post on 1st April this year, a date which was lost on the good majority of readers as they whooped and cyber-fist-bumped the…
Thy Kingdom Come: a week of prayer for confidence to make Jesus known
"Jesus Christ calls every person to follow him. As Christians it’s our duty and joy to share that invitation. That’s why the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are inviting…
Wise unto salvation: the Christ in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare died 400 years ago today, on St George's Day, at the age of 52, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His was the greatest English mind ever to have existed.…
The Queen's 90th: Happy Birthday, Ma'am
God has saved her and she has lived long. The first two invocations of the National Anthem have been and are still being fulfilled. Her Majesty The Queen's 90th…
Cameron's Christian values are devoid of liberty, spirit and truth
At least No10 bothered to issue an Easter greeting this year. Last year they omitted to do so, and then refused to reply to a number of the politest…
Easter Day: He is risen! Hallelujah!
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is…
Holy Saturday: marginalisation, persecution, martyrdom
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus…
Good Friday: love so amazing, so divine
Good Friday The Collects Almighty God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up…
Palm Sunday: the Kingdom of God and a new social order
The Kingdom of God was heralded by the Messiah riding a donkey. By reason and provocation, He urged anyone who would fully accept that Kingdom to enter into its…
Meaningful Chocolate and the meaningless M&S Dinosaur Easter Egg
Chicks and bunnies are a bit passé, so now we have the M&S Dinosaur Easter Egg. A decorated hollow milk chocolate T. rex with mini eggs in a speckled…
The Kingdom of God is within you, but it is also a future promise
Where is the Kingdom of God? Does it matter? How can it be both within you and yet still to come? Or has it already come? And if it…
Pentecost evangelism? What is the gospel in an age of religious relativism?
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written to every clergyman and woman in England (all 11,300 of them, which is a lot of stamps), urging them to pray…
Pope Trump: walls, bridges, and judging who is a real Christian
Pope Trump has decreed more than a few anathemas, and has himself been anathematised by more than a few. "If anyone denies that Muslims, visible and invisible, do not present…
Does God still raise up prophets?
Prophecy is the most frequently-mentioned charism in the whole Pauline corpus: the role of the prophets is preeminent (eg 1Thess 5:20; 1Cor 11:4f; Rom 12:6; Eph 2:20; 1Tim 1:18).…
Global persecution of Christians more extreme than ever
This week many in the church and a few in the media have their eyes on Justin Welby and the Primates meeting in Canterbury, waiting to see if the…
Church of England continues its decline – but is revival stirring?
The Church of England has published its attendance stats ('Statistics for Mission') for 2014. Don't yawn. Yes, the interesting Anglican stuff is leavening this week in a Canterbury crypt,…
An abused dog howls for the love of God
An abused dog is stroked for the first time. The sound is piercing and distressing. It isn't quite a howl of anguish; more a shriek of intense fear. It…
On the Feast of Stephen
The funeral of St Stephen, by Filippo Lippi (1460). St Stephen – 'a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost' (Acts 6:5) – was chosen to be a…
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.. Through him all things were made.. In him was life.. the light of…